A variety of devices rely upon conductive components such as electrodes. For many representative devices, such as solar cells and touch screens, it can be desirable for such electrodes to exhibit some degree of transparency. Transparent characteristics may be achieved using conductive meshes, or other components that pass light.
While electrodes having transparent characteristics have been useful, it can be difficult to obtain transparency while maintaining desirable conductivity characteristics. Moreover, various conditions limit processing characteristics for such electrodes. For instance, in many applications, it is desirable to form flexible electrodes on a flexible substrate, such as a plastic-based substrate. However, many plastic and other substrates are not amenable to various processing conditions, such as those involving high heat. Moreover, for various nano-scale applications, it can be difficult to control heating of the materials at desirable locations.
The above and other challenges have been difficult to address for a variety of applications.